


Brand New Eyes

by saplvr



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Background Relationships, College Football, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Internal Conflict, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Popularity, Slow Burn, Tension, george is kinda a dick lol, minor sexual tension, theyre kinda just horny college kids lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:55:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saplvr/pseuds/saplvr
Summary: “Shut that pretty little mouth of yours” Clay said, stone cold eyes staring right through George’s soul. His gaze sent a cold shiver down George’s spine, the feeling of heat rising to his cheeks disgusts him.“You’re only mad ‘cause I’m right.” George replied cockily, tearing his eyes away from Clay. A smirk curling at his lips.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 54





	1. Ignorance

**Author's Note:**

> i do not condone irl-shipping nor ship any characters mentioned in this work, please do not repost this in anyway. if any ccs stance on fanfic changes i will take this down.
> 
> dream college frat-boy au lives rent free in my mind

George Hates being corrected, it hurts his ‘pride’. He defends his knowledge significantly, never wanting to share it. He’d rather be by himself then talk to anyone. He was the kid who would opt to do a group project alone.

He’s dense and would never admit a mistake. He’s cold, never bothered to make a friend when he was younger. He would mess around with electronic trinkets and build contraptions of his own. George was often bored in school, being the top of his primary and secondary classes.

George would be described as ice, easy to break but dense and cold on the outside, only opening up once you crack the thick layer above.

Now, George is on his way to college. He is part of an exchange program, his school allowing him to study abroad in the US. Unfortunately for George, he applied too late to the transfer program and only had one choice, Florida. 

George hates the heat more than anything. In the heat he couldn’t wear a hoodie and jeans, in the heat his pale skin would turn pink. He also hates planes, but he knew he had to be on one for 8 hours to get to Florida.

The plane ride was filled with coffee, uncomfortable sitting positions, and naps. The air when he stepped out of the plane was gross, musty and filled with the scent of other people’s odor. It was loud, crammed. George wanted to get to his dorm and hide from the noise, smell, everything. He felt gross at the sight of people making eye contact with him.

Despite the countless caffeinated drinks George had on the plane he felt as if he just ran up stairs, out of breath, sweaty, irritated. The room was sticky, dripping with other people. _Gross_.

He wandered the long hallways, trying to find the luggage claim. The airport was a maze with no map, so easy to get lost in the jungle of people and signs.

George made his way to the luggage claim, picking up his bag. A bus was going to pick him to bring him to the dorm with the other exchange students. In a flurry of head motions he glanced down at his watch, _1:08pm_. He decides to make his way over to where his future classmates and teachers would be waiting for him.

George arrives at the location where his classmates are supposed to be, he’s greeted by something different.

A tall blond figure stood in front of him, turned away from George. He was quite annoyed by this, he knew his class was right past this person. 

He reaches up and angrily taps the strangers shoulder, he tries to put on a nice tone. “Excuse me sir,” he said as the man turned around to meet George with an annoyed look.

The man had green eyes, though George can’t tell. He’s wearing a green and yellow letterman, most likely school colors. The freckles on his face stared back at George’s pale, clear skin. “Yes?” he asked in a cold tone, making George straten his posture.

“I need to get to my class,” George said, pointing behind the figure. “You’re in the way” he finished, swallowing his words.

He looks up, helplessly watching the lump in the taller man's throat bob up and down as his lips part, letting out a scoff.

George furrowed his eyebrows in frustration, giving the stranger a quizzical look. 

“What’s so funny?” George asked annoyed, still observing the man’s movements.

“Your voice,” he says deeply, taking George aback. Their eyes meet. 

“What about my voice, dickhead” George says snarkily, making the taller of the two smirk. _Who does he think he is?_ George's mind runs wild.

The strange steps forward, forcing George to back up. “Your voice” he repeats, tilting his head forward a bit exposing tan and defined collarbones. George can’t help but stare. “Your voice is funny, you’re not from around here are you?” 

“What do you think, smartass” George says, trying to move around the guy. “I’m trying to get to my class, I would appreciate it if you moved.” He said coldly. 

He was startled by the touch of the stranger, his palm right at George’s sternum. His hands were big, he was certain the man could feel George’s heartbeat underneath his touch. The man's skin felt like sandpaper on George’s clothed chest. _Unpleasant_. 

George’s immediate reaction was to swat his hand away, before he could do anything his train of thought was halted. “Clay.” The man said getting closer to George. 

“Excuse me?” George said, hitting the strangers forearm, causing the hand to fall off his chest. 

“My name, Clay.” He said linking eyes with George once more before George hastily walked away.

“Wouldn’t you like to know mine.” He told the man before joining up with his class. _What a dick._

He meets up with his class, checking in with the escort waiting. He notices 4 or 5 other kids in the group. One appears to be a younger boy, taller with blond hair. He’s talking to a much shorter boy with light brown hair, similar to his own. 

He glances to the small worn couch, coated in a barf-blue color. He sees a tall brunette talking with a humble blond female. The blond notices George is looking in their direction and shoots him a soft smile, George returns the gesture with a small hand-wave. George is not one to be interested in making new friends, he figures he should make the attempt at a good first impression. 

Swallowing his pride he makes his way over to the small ottoman beside the couch, still keeping a warm gesture over his posture. “Hey,” he says, shooting both of them an open smile “I’m George, how are you guys” he finishes sitting down on the old ottoman. It’s not comfy, the texture resembling hay.

“Hi George,” the blond girl says smiling, “I’m Niki, and this is my friend Wilbur. 

“Hello George,” Wilbur says, making eye contact with him. “I see you’ve ran into Clay” 

“Oh you mean _that_ blond dickhead?” George said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Well,” Wilbur said in a chuckle, “that ‘blond dickhead’ is also the quarterback on the football team.” 

George laughs, _Of course he’s on the football team._ “I couldn’t care less about if he’s on the football team or not,” George said looking at his untied shoes. He reaches down to tie them, “if anything it makes me think even less of him,” he murmurs, lifting his head up. His eyes filled with exhaust and jet-lag. 

“You should be careful around him,” Niki said, seeming distraught “just, don’t mess with him” her tone honey soft. 

“I appreciate the concern really,” George wasn’t going to live his final year in college in fear because of a ‘scary football frat-boy’ was he? “I think I can handle myself.” he finished looking into Niki’s eyes, the distress still draped over her face.

Niki turned to look at Wilbur, eyes still wide, eyebrows arching. Wilbur shook his head at her, turning back to George to give a warm smile.

“Hello everyone,” the group leader said, George darted his eyes up to his left, “my name is Karl, I’m your escort for today,” 

Karl allowed his eyes to trail the room of future students, “I am a student, so please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions.” he exhaled, making eye contact with George. Karl was shorter than the younger blond boy behind him. Hazel eyes scanned the clipboard that fumbled in his frail hands.

“I am accompanied by another student, Clay” he swallowed, “I believe some of you have ran into him already.” He finished, looking at George, George swallowed.

“Now, we have a bus that leaves in 20 minutes so please get to know each other and myself, use the bathroom if you must but please return here in 15 minutes so we aren’t late” he said with a smile, returning his gaze to his clipboard. George’s eyes were brought back to his watch, _1:21pm_. 

The next 15 minutes passed slowly it was filled with boring conversations George couldn’t care less about and frequent glances to his wrist. 

Finally Karl spoke up again once Clay had arrived back with the group. George was not delighted to see Clay again, he wanted his first encounter with him to be his last. 

“I see we are all here” He said with a warm smile. George reluctantly glanced at Clay, he was leaning up against a wall not paying attention to Karl. George rolled his eyes at the childish behavior.

“-et’s get going now, shall we?” Karl motioned with his hands for the students to stand up.

Everyone got up and bunched together in a disorganized line, George stood in the back not wanting to talk to anyone.

George noticed a tall blond figure a few heads in front of him, he immediately recognized it as Clay. He let out a quiet but audible groan.

The kid in front of him turned around, giving George a concerned look. “You good?” 

George, startled mustered up a half witted reply “Yeah, no worries” shooting the kid a small smile “just something in my throat”

“Hm” the kid says in a jumpy tone as he sticks out his hand “names Tommy,” 

“George” he returns the gesture, shaking hands with the taller boy.

-

The group continues walking, George makes small conversation Tommy. Tommy is annoying to say the least. He’s out-going. The opposite of George. He finds Tommy amusing, laughing along at his comments as they walk to the pick-up section of the airport.

George still felt gross, he wanted to go home back to his house. Just breathing the air of a new continent made his stomach churn.

After endlessly wandering the halls of the airport Karl stopped them to do one last head count before they boarded the bus.

George chose to sit in the back, away from everyone. He sat in a seat 3 rows from the back of the bus. Again he noticed the tall blond character walk up to him in the bus, he groaned pushing his head back into the grey seat.

Clay smirked at the sight, moving to sit in the row across from George.

“What do you want,” George said coldly, turning his head to face the window.

Clay hesitated before he replied, “your name”

“What?” George replied, turning his head to face Clay.

“Your name,” Clay repeated calmly “what is it, you never told me”

George scoffed “Wouldn’t you like to know,”

“I do want to know, why else would I be asking,” Clay snarked

George turned to Clay, smirking. He liked the sense of anonymity he got knowing Clay didn’t know his name.

He gave in, “It’s George” he turned away hearing Clay let out a small chuckle.

-

George walked up to the reception desk, giving the woman sitting there a warm smile. The room coated with a scent of past students and dust. He rested one hand on the tall counter that reached up to his stomach.

“What can I do for you darlin’” the lady looked up at George, meeting his eyes.

“Uhm” he swallows “‘m here for my dorm.”

“Can I get your name?”

“Oh yeah, George” he smiles, breaking eye contact.

“George,” the lady trails off, the noises of her keyboard filling the empty room with noise.

“Alright,” she halts typing and gives a key to George. “You’re in room 208, your roommate had already checked in. You each get 1 key, if you lose it you can replace it for a fee of 5 dollars.” She pauses before she drops the key in George’s palm, “don’t lose it.” George nods, grabbing the key.

George gave her a reassuring smile before trekking up the stairs to find his room. The hallways are long, stairwell cramped. The doors are an ugly red color. George passes the doors each marked with a number. _204, 206, 208._

The door to his dorm is slightly open, it sounds like someone is playing music? George pushes the door open to look inside, the room is arranged perfectly with no sign of anyone entering. 

He steps inside, still determined to find the source of the music. He sets his bag down as he makes his way to the small kitchen and living area.

He notices a phone layed out over the musty marble surface. The phone is on, playing soft music. George grabs the phone causing it to turn on, the lock screen being of a small sketch most likely down by a smaller child. As he taps the pause button someone walks out of the bathroom.

George and this new character are just as surprised to see the other. The figure appears to be around the same height as George, though it's hard to tell with more than 7ft and a counter between them. The boy has dark brown or black hair, most of it covered with a dark blue cap.

“Hey!” the stranger shouted, giving George a quizzical look “That’s my phone!”

“I’m sorry!” George stammered, “I didn’t know, I heard music when I came in and wondered where it was coming from!” He glanced around, noticing a backpack. He assumed it was his roommates.

“So I’m assuming you're my roommate, right?” 

“Oh,” the question tore George’s attention from the couch back to the stranger “yeah, I’m George”

“I’m Alex,” he said smiling, stepping forward and reaching out his hand, “can I have my phone back now?”

George chuckled at that, setting the phone into Alex’s palm.

-

George and Alex get to talk a bit, Alex’s loud personality complementing George’s quiet demeanor in all the right ways. George learns Alex is from Mexico, moving to Florida to attend college. He also notes that Karl, the student escort that met him at the airport is really good friends with Alex, Alex once flew out to meet Karl before school started.

George is scrolling through his phone, texting the few friends he has back home about his experiences in America. He gets an email notification from the school, it appears to be the standard copy paste message so he ignores it. 

“Hey George!” he hears Alex distant call for him.

“Yeah?” he says loudly.

“Did you get that email too?”

“Uh, yeah I didn’t really read it though,”

“Oh well, wake up early tomorrow they’re gonna give us a tour of the school before classes start next week”

“Okay” he says before letting out a groan. George hates waking up early, possibly the one thing he hates more than interacting with other people.

-

By this time it’s a bit late, 7:48pm, the sun setting. George decides to go on a walk, just to get out of the cramped dorm he’s been in for the past 5 hours.

He makes his way back down the tight stairwell, and out the main entrance to his dorm building; building 2. He makes a left out of his dorm, walking in the general direction of the park.

It was a chilly evening, just barely past dusk, the sun slightly visible in the sky. Splotches of dark red, yellow, and blue coated it.

When he approaches the main gates of the school park he’s surprised at the sheer emptiness it has. He turns around just to get a glimpse of his dorm building in the distance. A cold breeze ran through his body, prompting George to put on his jacket.

George found a bench to sit on. He felt the cold wood through his pants.

He heard faint footsteps behind, he didn’t think much of it so he returned his attention to his phone, thoroughly reading through the email. Then he felt the bench move a bit, he turned around just to see Clay standing behind him, arms either side of George’s shoulders propping him up. Clay had an egotistical look painted across his face, one he wore proudly. George would love to have his knuckles pressed against Clay’s face, slap the smug look off.

“So,” Clay spoke, turning his head away as George turned the other way “what’s a guy like you doing out here?”

Rolling his eyes, “Getting away from you.”

Clay clicked his tongue “Well have fun with that.”

George met his eyes, Clay still had a smug smile on his face. “What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’?”

“I mean why do you have that look on your face” George said, getting up from the bench.

Clay’s smile widened, “Oh, I’m just here to tell you I’m your little ‘tour guide’ tomorrow.”

George titled his head back and groaned, “and you had to go all around the school to tell me this” Clay scoffed.

“Like I would do that anyways” Clay said, turning his bag around to face George. A football helmet stuck out of it just enough for George to see. He instinctively glanced at his watch, 7:57pm.

“Practice. But I did see you so I thought I’d break the news to you” the smug smile returned and oh god George wanted to kick the guy in the shin.

“I would love to stay and chat but I’m gonna be late” He said sarcastically, George rolled his eyes. 

“Oh I bet you would” George said overenthusiastically.

He watched as Clay walked away from him, his dirty sneakers dragging the leaves and gravel on the ground. It annoyed George how collected Clay was, it seemed he had no problem walking up to someone and starting a conversation with them. A skill George was very much lacking. 

To George Clay was nothing more than the cliché college stuck-up who happened to be on the football team. In short, George wanted nothing to do with Clay. The interactions they already had were enough for George.

George found himself walking in the opposite direction of Clay, seeing a group of what he assumed to be football players walking past him. He kept his head low, not wanting to initiate conversation with them.

Most football players were loud, which annoyed George. He dragged the soul of his shoes on the ground a little longer than anyone should. The sides of his shoes were quickly dirtied with a mixture of gravel and damp dirt. The noise his dirty shoes make on the smooth concrete paving fills George’s ears. As the dusk comes to an end the lights around the campus turn on. 

George glaces at his watch yet again. 8:07pm. He then turns his head to be met with a map of the park, internally he notes the location of the computer labs in building C2. The school is a maze nonetheless, especially to a confused abroad-student. George shuffles his phone out of his pocket before taking a picture of the map for later. 

George’s hand fumbles with the key to his dorm, once opened he sets his phone down on the kitchen counter. He peaks over the couch to see Alex splayed out face-down. George chuckles to himself before going into the small bathroom that no two people should ever share.

He frees himself from his clothes that had grown to become sticky on his skin, he neatly folds them and places them on the counter next to the sink.

He steps inside the small bath-tub shower hybrid and turns the knob. The water on his back is soothing, the sound of water hitting the porcelain tub fills the room. George’s thoughts seem to be louder than the noise, no matter what he does he cannot take his mind off Clay. The way Clay looked just irritated George, he tried to ignore the way he twitched when he recalled the events of the park. 

A knock at the door halted his thoughts. “George? You in here” he heard Alex call from the other side.

“Yeah I am, do you need to use the bathroom?”

“I was gonna shower, I’ll wait ‘till you’re done” 

“Oh okay,”

George was grateful for the interruption in a way. It stopped his thoughts about Clay that he _should_ want nothing to-do with. Correction, he didn’t want anything to do with him.

He turned the knob on the shower, grabbed a towel and his clothes and retreated to his room for the night, attempting to mentally prepare himself for the events that will take place in the morning.

* * *

George set his clock for 6:45am, as he had to be in the main lobby at 7:15am for his tour. He groans as he hears his phone start to buzz, pushing his head back as far as he can into his pillow. He extends his arm to reach for his phone to turn off the alarm.

He stumbled out of his room still pulling his shirt over his head. He noticed Alex’s door slightly ajar. He knocked with no answer, as he pushed open the door he saw Alex still asleep. 

He goes to tap Alex awake and remind him of the tour they’re supposed to go on. Alex quickly swats him away and George leaves the dorm to meet at the lobby.George wonders why his tour was so early, he hates waking up early. 

As he gathered in the lobby he noticed a few other students sitting in chairs and on couches. He turns his head to the left where there's a hallway leading to the main office, the lights in the office are off as no one was awake this early.

He spotted two students in the hallway, one he immediately recognized as Clay. Clay was with another student, a girl who was around the same height as George, if not taller. Her arms were wrapped around Clay’s neck with Clay’s right hand snaking around her side. Their lips meet in a hasty kiss before George tears his eyes away from the scene. A strange feeling in his stomach arising with no warning.

George goes to sit at a vacant couch as he waits for Alex to catch up. He looks down at his watch, 7:09am. As he looked up once again he was meeted with the gaze of Alex looking down.

“Why didn’t you wait for me,” he said coldly

George let out a soft laugh “I mean you practically swatted me out of your room, so I thought you wouldn’t care” he tries.

Alex just rolled his eyes and took the seat next to George, scrolling through his phone as he waited for the tour to start. Alex wouldn’t have to wait long as a few moments later, almost on cue, Clay walked out of the hallway making his way to the center of the room.

George almost rolls his eyes at something so simple as him walking, the way his shoelaces were tied annoyed George.

“Good morning everyone” Clay said smiling, George narrowed his eyes and tried to look like he was paying attention “how is everyone doing today?” Most of the students were drowsy and not in the mood to be walking 3 miles this morning. 

“Well,” Clay paused while looking around the room, the brief seconds their eyes met infuriated George “a good place to start would be the education buildings, on your maps they should be buildings A1-B2.” George took this as an opportunity to take his eyes off Clay and return them to his phone. “The education buildings include mathematics, the science wing, english arts, history, and world studies.” Clay started pacing around, it annoyed George how collected he was this early in the morning. Everything that Clay did George found a way to hate it.

Clay led the group around the education buildings, George was already tired after going through one building. “Building C2 and D1 are the art wings, building C1 has the computer labs.”

Without thinking George blurted out “A-actually building C2 is the computer lab, C1 is the art wing.” Clay gave him a cold stare, chuckling slightly, “Shut that pretty little mouth of yours” Clay said, stone cold eyes staring right through George’s soul. His gaze sent a cold shiver down George’s spine, the feeling of heat rising to his cheeks disgusts him.

“You’re only mad ‘cause I’m right.” George replied cockily, tearing his eyes away from Clay. A smirk curling at his lips. George was surprised how easily he did that, was it the groggy-ness of his morning self or the fact that he despised Clay in every way shape and form? To say the least, George found himself smiling a little more than he should’ve at the tour.

-

George practically threw himself down on the couch once he arrived at the dorm, Alex following suit. 

“What was that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like,” Alex paused readjusting himself, “the way you corrected Clay, what was that?”

“Oh,” George’s eyebrow twitched recalling the events hours prior, “probably just my sleep deprived self and the fact I cannot stand that kid”

Alex laughed, George gave him a confused look. “Why would you hate Clay? You’ve hardly spoken to the guy.”

“I don’t know Alex, something about him gets my blood boiling” George finished standing up.

“I’m taking a nap, too tired for this,” he said fumbling with the door knob.

He barely heard Alex say “Suit yourself!” before climbing into the rock hard bed and pulling the thin sheets over his body.

He can’t help but think about how he felt when he caught Clay with the girl earlier, he shouldn’t care, everything is telling him that’s it’s stupid. George reaches for his phone, plugging in his headphones and clicking play on one of his playlists.

_If I'm a bad person, you don't like me_

_Well, I guess I'll make my own way_

The lyrics fill his ears as he drifts off to sleep,

_We're not the same_

_Oh, we're not the same_

The thought of Clay fills his head as he fall asleep.

_Ignorance is your new best friend_


	2. Playing God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 pog. just so y'all dont get confused with the italics, some are emphasizing words or phrases, others are george's thoughts and they can also be lyrics. i tried my best to differentiate which is which. anyways, enjoy this chapter :>

George wants to break Clay, see what he’s all about. The Clay he knows is calm, collected, and grossly popular. George wants to push all his buttons and see what's under the facade. There’s only one slight issue, George could go his entire life without seeing Clay again and would live it to his full extent. 

Clay was the type to show up to a party uninvited and become the center of attention, on the other hand George wouldn’t be caught dead in a college party.

Clay throws George off in the worst ways possible. Every interaction they’ve had George’s mind has been out wack, like he can’t control himself. Unlike Clay, where he seems to know exactly what to do and say. George can’t help but think it’s all an act, the strong and calm demeanor, threatening with no intention.

If George was ice, then Clay is steel; seemingly unbreakable at first until you find that one thing that makes it melt. 

The sheets engulf George’s frail body, the rock-hard mattress supporting his weight, the sound of music still pulsing through his skull. The music fades into nothing but ringing in his ears, it sounded like a fly that was practically begging to be swatted. He had nothing better else to do other than wait, classes didn’t start for another 4 days. Alex was god knows where doing god knows what.

He groaned to no-one but himself, turning his head to face his alarm clock the red light illuminating from the 4 digits radiating across his small night-stand. 11:38am. He’d been laying in his bed for almost 14 hours, trying to will away his thoughts. Thoughts he shouldn't be having, about anyone.

The crevasse in his back was damp with his own sweat, probably caused by the hours he’s spent in one position. He was uncomfortable yet had no motive to move. The only thing moving were his thoughts, racing around his neurons like they were late to an important job interview. 

His eyes darted up to the ceiling watching the cheap ceiling fan slowly spin around his room, hardly doing the job it was built to do. If anything it just circulated more musty and grossly humid air around. The sound of the blades coming in contact with falling pieces of chipped paint was almost undetectable if not for the environment of the room. Everytime a paint-chip falls on the blades of the fan it faintly sounds like knocking in the distance. _Sounds like knocking,_ that’s because Alex has been knocking on his door for at least 5 minutes while George is staring at paint-chips.

“Fuck,” he mutters to himself, attempting to fix his hair as much as he can before opening the door. “Dude, you good?” Alex gives him a concerned look, “You look like shit,”

“-and feel like it” George cuts him off and walks into the kitchen to get some water. The cool liquid being poured into the glass causes George to shudder at the noise. As he takes a sip he sees Alex walk back into the living room, “Something on your mind?” he sets the glass down, “you look like you’re thinking at a million miles an hour”

George lets out a shaky exhale “I’m just pissed off really,”

“Wanna talk about it?” 

“Not really,” of course George would say no, he’s not the one to be open about his feelings, he’d rather bottle them up and watch them all come out in an explosive fury. 

“-you sure?” Alex reassures, it makes George take another sip of his water, the stream licking his tongue as he swallows. 

“Look,” George inhales. “I appreciate the concern really” he’s lying through his teeth as he sucks on them “thing is I don’t know why im so pissed off, I just am.” He sets his glass back down.

“Ah, don’t worry man I get like that sometimes”

“Yeah,” George mutters before abandoning the half-drinken glass of water and retreating to his own little hiding place. 

As soon as he closes the door he immediately throws off his shirt, discarding the half damp fabric in the small clothing basket. He runs a hand down his small stomach, feeling each creavass. He shudders as two fingers wrap around the top of his trousers. It’s just pent up energy, mostly from anger and the fact he hasn't come in contact with another human in almost 4 months. Right? That’s what George wants to believe, but as he reaches for the band of his boxers the only thought passing through his mind is Clay. The only thing goin-

There’s another knock at the door, again George throws his head back in a groan. He quickly reaches down to pull up his pants and put on a new shirt. He turns the knob and is greeted by Alex once again.

“Hey George sorry to interrupt-”

“-eah no, it’s fine” George started, cutting Alex off unintentionally.

“Oh, well there’s a party in about a week” he smiles, showing George a flyer on his phone. “It’s kinda like a welcome party they do I guess? One of the students is hosting it.” George hates parties, why, because people are at them. He’d just barely gotten used to seeing another human walk around the space he inhabits. How is he going to get used to 50+ drunk college students crammed in one space at some rando’s house? The thought of going to a party is enough to make him gag slightly.

He covers the noise with a small cough before Alex spoke again, “I’ve already asked my friend Karl if he wanted to join, I just wanted to ask you because you’re kinda my roommate.”

“Wait, Karl as in the student escort?” 

“Uhh, I do think he was on the international course so maybe we’re thinking of the same Karl,” 

Two familiar faces would be nice company, but a particular third face wouldn’t. “Uh,” all George wanted to do was crawl back into his room and let off some steam, not be questioned about partaking in an activity that guarantees human interaction.

“-why not” he gives a weak smile and watches Alex’s face light up. “Cool, I’ll text you the details.” Alex turns to walk away and George turns back to face his dark un-lit room.

“-and try and come out of there at least once today!” he faintly hears Alex from the living room. He rolls his eyes before closing the door and collapsing back onto his bed, wincing from the uncomfortable density of the mattress. He sighs now just realising the stress he’s put on himself.

* * *

3 days, 3 days of George doing practically nothing, hardly coming out of his room, only daring to take a peak for the occasional meal he would have and to use the washroom. He’s also hardly spoken to Alex, who seems to be out of the dorm as much as George is in it. Well, he did see Alex along with another guest.

All George wanted to do is get a coke out of the fridge to fuel his crippling caffeine addiction and his fucked up sleep schedule. On the way out he was greeted but an unfamiliar face on the couch with Alex sitting next to him, the two deep into a conversation. Unfortunately for George, he wasn’t the only one to notice the new face in the room. Suddenly, as George was taking a coke can out of the fridge the stranger spoke up.

“Oh, you must be Alex’s roommate,” he said, turning to Alex.

“Mm yeah, that George,” Alex paused. “George come over here and meet Nick,” George groaned quietly, he wasn’t in the right space to be interacting with a completely new person.

George walked over and sat down in the small chair across the couch, giving Alex and Nick a smile. Nick was the first one to break the silence, “Hi George, I’m Nick, one of Alex’s friends.” he said in a calm tone, his voice welcoming for a stranger at least. “Alex has mentioned you a few times” he giggles “surprised you came out of your room” 

George smirked at the remark, “Ha-ha very funny.” He said sarcastically, eyes studying Nick. “You know, I am on the football team,” Nick’s voice suddenly faded. All George could think about at the mention of ‘football team’ was Clay. Was Nick friends with C- 

His train of thought interrupted by Nick, “-lay’s mentioned you a few times” George was taken back at the statement, he didn’t know what to say. He was supposed to hate him, want nothing to do with him. The mention of Clay bringing George up before sent a shock down his back, and it wasn’t the terrified type.

George shook his head at the comment, laughing a bit. The only thing that comment gave George was curiosity, what did Clay say about him and why. George figures those questions are better left unanswered.  
His mouth detached from his brain, speaking without warning, “So, Alex how’d you meet Nick,”

As he turned to Alex he heard him chuckled slightly, “Actually Karl introduced me to him, three of us have been friends ever since,” he finished turning to Nick and giving him a warm smile which Nick returned. George hated relationships, romantic or platonic, but seeing Nick and Alex’s clear bond and trust for each other made him jealous. No, jealous isn’t the right word, pity, George pitied himself for never bothering to talk to anyone. In a way he wanted what Alex and Nick have, no, no he doesn’t. 

“So George,” Nick started, in a way startling George, “have you ever been to one of our games?”

“Huh?” Yeah he’s on the football team dumbass, were you even listening? “Oh, no I haven’t just been busy I guess,” George trails off. 

“You should come to one, it’s always great fun,” Nick says as their eyes meet. “We have a game every month, the first one is at the end of september, I can get you and Alex free tickets.” George glanced over at Alex who was ecstatic by the comment, seemingly with no pause to the conversation Alex blurts out, “YES!” George laughs at Alex’s enthusiastic nature “Yes! George and I would love to come to your football game!” Though George hates the thought that Alex has somehow convinced him to go to a college party AND a football game, he finds himself somewhat looking forward to it.

“I guess that means we’ll go,” George giggles and Nick shoots him a smile. He notices Nick pull out a small box, lined with small red lines. His slender fingers reach into the box and pull out a cylindrical object, a cigar. As Nick pulls out a lighter he motions to George, “do you mind if I-”

“No, no go ahead,” As he watches Nick light and puts the cigar in his mouth he can’t help but study him, small amounts of freckles litter his face. Freckles he can’t help but compare to Clay’s. Nick has light brown hair, George admires the way his slight side-burns meet his skin.

As Nick exhales a light grew puff of smoke is released, George daringly inhales. It's sweet, but dangerous. 

“Hey Nick, don’t be a dick, give me one” Alex complains and George can do nothing but laugh. Nick hands Alex a cigar and lights it carefully, as Alex takes hold of it he walks over to the small sliding door that leads out to a small balcony. He takes a step out, George can feel the air of the floridian night enter the small dorm.

“Do you want one?” Nick offers, George isn’t the one to smoke but he isn’t the one to decline a request either.

“Sure,” he watched Nick light and hand him a cigar as well, he joined Alex and Nick on the small balcony. It could barely hold all 3 of them, they were practically shoulder to shoulder.

George doesn’t know how he got here, smoking on some cheap balcony with 2 people he barely knows. He instinctively glances down at his watch, 9:46pm. The autumn night is calm, the noise of birds chirping and bugs calling fill the air. The smell of smoke quickly becomes the only thing George can smell. In a way he likes it, the tangy smell of it. He takes one last inhale of the disgusting nicotine before putting the butt of the cigarette down and walking inside.

He finishes the glass of water he left on the counter before going to his room. He throws off his shirt before falling down on his bed, wondering how he got here. He recalls the party invitation Alex sent him, promptly he pulled out his phone. He sees a text from Alex and opens it. The party is in 5 days, 5 days George has to mentally prepare himself for it. The electronic has an address attached to it but no host name. He also has a football game to go to in a month, which gave him more time to prepare but he wasn’t looking forward to it. He set his phone down, setting his alarm and drifting off to sleep as he awaited morning, the first day of classes.

-

To say the least, George wasn’t excited, he was prepared for a long day today as he had classes from 8:30am to 3:45pm. First he had calculus, then he had a coding lecture followed by digital media and finally computer lab. He had one 1 hour lunch break that he prepared to spend alone.

George awoke to sound of his annoying phone alarm, as soon as he heard the first _beep_ his hand flew back instantly, almost as a reflex. He hit his phone until the beeping came to a stop. He reached back once more to take his phone, upon opening it he noted the time, 7:56am. George jumped out of bed, put on a pair of decent jeans and a sweatshirt, he pulled his watch onto his wrist, and stepped outside of his bedroom. George grabbed his backpack, making sure he had spare notebooks and binders for the day. He stepped out of the dorm, mentally preparing himself for calculus.

George made his way through the maze like campus, entering building A2. He wandered a few more halls before seeing a door with his teacher's name on it, he pocketed his schedule and stepped inside.

He was greeted with a few other students already in the class, he glanced back at his watch, 8:24am. He was early. George gave a short smile to his teacher before taking a seat at an empty table.

In the next 6 minutes students came into the class like flies, it was loud and startled George at first. He saw one familiar face, the girl from the airport. George notices the honey dripped smile Niki gave him from across the room. He reaches down into his backpack to grab a notebook, as he lifts his head up he sees Niki seated right next to him.

“Hi George” she greeted him, voice smooth as silk.

“Hey Niki, glad to see a familiar face this mornin-” George was cut off by the ring of the bell, loud and obnoxious. The ringing in his ears lasted longer than he wanted. He shifted his attention to the teacher making his way to the white board. 

Something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention, 2 students outside the door. He felt a sharp pain in his chest when he noticed it was Clay and that girl again. _He’s just everywhere isn’t he._ George just couldn’t get away from him. George dares to take his eyes off the slightly open door of the classroom, and for a second George could’ve swore he saw Clay shoot him a cocky smile. No way he’s actually like this, is there?

His attention was torn away from the door and back to the front of the room with 3 taps on the white board. “Hello everyone, I will be your calculus teacher this semester. Now, I know math isn’t everyone's favorite subject but I will do my best to make it interesting.”

He turned around and uncapped an expo marker, “with that said and done we will start with the 4 concepts of calculus,” George couldn’t focus on anything at that point, the only thing going through his mind was Clay.

“As you should know, calculus focuses on limits-” the teacher's voice drowned in George’s thoughts. He already knew this material so what’s the point in paying attention. The musty air in the classroom filled his nose. When George fails to keep his mind off Clay he knows today is gonna be rough. 

-

After a long 3 classes and 1 lunch break later George was walking over to the computer labs. George dragged his feet on the concrete pavement, still unable to get the thoughts of Clay out of his head. 

He inhales as he presses a hand against the cool glass of the door, breath hitching as he felt it open when he’d put no pressure against the surface. Turning to his left he was greeted with Clay’s stupid smile. He wanted to bring his hand up to his face and slap the look right off his face. He didn’t. George groaned and made sure Clay heard it.

He practically ran to his class, it didn’t go unnoticed how Clay seemingly followed him. He halted right at the door. “Are you just gonna follow me or something,” he spat out, voice uneasy.

“Yes,” George turned around after hearing those words and gave Clay a confused look. “Of-course not, I have computer lab this period too.” His voice laced with pride. George groaned.

“Well then,” Clay said as he brushed past George, sending a cool breeze his way. “See you in class.” Clay made sure to turn around and give George a smirk. George inhaled sharply at the annoying gesture, he couldn’t help but get a sense of Clay’s sentーsweet but dangerous. George hesitantly entered the room.

As he stepped in he glanced around the room, seeing 3 rows of long desks each lined with computers. There were only 3 to 4 chairs on each row which would prove to be more than enough for the 6 students that had this class. George took a seat near the door, to have a quick way to enter and exit the class.

The noise of keyboards and typing quickly filled the room. Loud and obnoxious. George pulled out his earbuds to try and deafen the noiseーhis music slowly replacing the noise of keyboards and indistinct conversations.

_I can't make my own decisions_

_Or make any with precision_

His only goal being finishing the program he’d been working on for weeks. His eyes trailed to the top of the computer screen where the time was displayedー3:07pm. Then his music came to a stop. He felt someone grab his earbuds out, his head moving in frenzied motions to find the culprit. Ofcourse it was Clay. 

George scoffed, “had a feeling it was you.” George’s hand quickly darted out to grab his earbuds, Clay caught it and held it in his grasp proudly. George fought the rush of heat it gave him, his thoughts stammered. 

“You’re a dick y’know,” George tried “jus’ give ‘em back.” He attempted to rustle his hand out of Clay’s grip but it wouldn’t budge. _Strong. He’s strong too._

George reached out with his other hand to grab the wire of his earbuds. One of the buds came loose from Clay’s gripーGeorge gave him a smirk and put the earbud back in his ear. 

_Well, maybe you should tie me up_

_So I don't go where you don't want me_

George heard Clay scoff. “Don’t worry, I was gonna give ‘em back,” Clay reached out his hand, the earbud looked exceptionally small in his palm. George grabbed it. “I just came over here to tell you that you wrote the script wrong, didn’t know how else to get your attention.” Clay said, as calm and collected as ever.

George rolled his eyes, “Then fix it smartass.” Clay obliged, taking the computer out of George’s reach. In barely 4 minutes Clay fixed the script of code George had been working to fix for weeks. Amazed, “How’d you do that?”

“Just’a simple tweek, I can show you more,” George raised an eyebrow, and took only one earbud out.

_Yeah, how could that be logical?_

“You mean like tutor me in code?” George said, still wondering how Clay could keep up the act of being a popular-kid hot-shot who has all the girls wrapped around his finger, yet paid hardly any attention to themーalmost all of them.

Clay shot him a smile that dripped of honey “Yeah, coding is one of my hobbies, your code is good but there’s a few things you could use some work on,” _And how many hobbies do you have?_ George looked up at him and met his emerald gaze.

_Just keep on cramming ideas down my throat_

“Why not,” he exhaled. “Did’ja want my number, so we can schedule things?” 

“Yeah that would be great,” George ripped a small section of paper out of his note-book and quickly scribbled his number on the paper. Carefully, he handed it to Clay. His fingertips brushed Clay’s palm, electric shocks flowed up his hand.

_Next time you point a finger_

“Thanks George,”

Without a warning nor hesitation George blurted out “How do you do it?”

“What?”

“How do you balance your different lives?”

_I might have to bend it back_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhh thank you for reading, ill do my best to update once every 1 or 2 weeks but no promises bc schools been kicking me in the back recently. and tysm again for the support on this fic i hope it can be a memorable one :]


	3. Brick by Boring Brick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, i do not condone irl-shipping nor ship any characters mentioned in this work, please do not repost this in anyway. if any ccs stance on fanfic changes i will take this down.
> 
> this chapter is kinda eh in my opinion, its on the shorter side but the next chapter will be a bit on the longer side :]

Without a warning nor hesitation George blurted out, “How do you do it?”

“What?”

“How do you balance your different lives?”

Clay looks at him with a new found confusion, George tries to ignore the way it makes his stomach turn.

“What do you mean?” Clay says slowly, a look of confusion washes over his face.

“I mean, you’re a dick to me,” George says, recalling the events that happened only a few days prior—”were a dick to me.” George’s gaze trailed up Clay’s figure, “You were a dick until now, why’s that?” their eyes met, George wasn’t satisfied. “Was I just too ‘nerdy’ or ‘stuck up’ for you to be caught seen with me?” 

Clay stands up and pushes his seat back in. “Geo-” Clay exhales and turns away from George. “I’ll call you, we can set up a meeting.” and he leaves, dropping George in a pool of guiltーno George doesn’t regret it at all, not one drop of guilt. 

-

Not even a few hours later George is back at it again, sitting at the shitty desk in his dorm listening to the faint one-sided conversation Alex is having on the other side of the door, sipping on a can of coke fueling his caffeine addiction and wondering, _what the fuck did Clay do to my code?!_ George still hasn’t received the promised phone call from Clay, maybe for the better.

George was still wanting answers from their conversation that ended so abruptly earlier. It annoyed him how calm and collected Clay was even after George seemed to have taken him off guardーit annoyed him how perfect Clay seemed to be, living the perfect life.

Every girl practically fawned over Clay, his toned figure, the way he walkedーtalked. Everything. He’s on the football team, has good friends, and he’s probably smart. It makes George’s guts feel like jelly. A knock at his door startled George. He stood up to answer it.

Alex greeted him with a small container, “You need to eat something, you’ve been holed up in there since you got back.” he pouted. George grabbed the container and thanked him. George picked up his phone, 7:19pm. He saw a notification indicating a missed call from an unknown number. George immediately knew it was Clay, but he didn’t want to call back just yet.

George distracted himself with whatever he could, messing around with his code, homework, eating, anything. He was uneasy, but why. A question, one of many, better off left unanswered. He ran a hand through his hair. He picked up the empty container of food and brought it out to the small kitchen, as he walked out he saw Alex fresh out of the shower. _So that’s what he looks like without a hat_. “Hm, so you finally came out of your room,” Alex said from behind, pulling his hood over his head.

“Yeah, thought I’d rinse this out” he started the tap.

“So,” George could feel Alex’s eyes trace up and down his back. “What’s up with you? You’re a wreck man”

“Mmhm, why does this concern you?” George questioned him, letting the water run a little too long.

“I’m your roommate?ーfriend even. Why wouldn’t it.”

George turned off the water and turned to face Alex, “Look man, I’m just,”

“-pissed?” Alex cuts him off, “Seems to be a trend lately.”

“Yeah and it’s just-” George exhales. “It’s just Clay, he gets on my nerves for the stupidest things. I-I don’t even know why he even offered to help with my code, what if he just uses this as a chance to get close to me and then leave just as quickly,”

Alex pulls the strings on his hoodie, “or maybe you’re reading into it too much, maybe he just wants to help.”

“Yeah but you saw how he was that day of the tour, he was a dick.”

“And that tour was also a week ago. People can change y’know.”

“True, but in a week?” George put the container on the small towel to dry. George was scared. He was scared Clay was going to invite him into his seemingly perfect life and then leave. George was supposed to hate him, wasn’t he? He could barely hold his end in a friendship with Alex so how was he supposed to try and start a new one.

He looked back up at Alex only to find he was gone. George groaned and went back to his room. He changed into a sweatshirt and turned his fan on. He checked his phone only to see three more missed calls from Clay. He wiped off his hands and dialed the number back.

“Hello?” George greeted.

“Took you long enough to answer my calls,” Clay said from the other line.

George debated confronting him about the incident earlier but in the end decided to wait. Some actions better left unanswered.

“What changed your mind anyway,” George paced around his room. “You’ve been a dick to me this entire week and suddenly you're nice.”

“That’s exactly why, I have been a dick to you. Thought I could make it up to you.” George falls back onto his bed and puts his arm up-to his eyes.

“Plus, I hear you’re coming to my party in a few days.” George groans.

“So you’re the host, should’ve known.” George pauses, neither of them make an effort to speak, silence erupts over the call.

“Are we gonna make a plan or,” Clay suddenly says, ending the silence.

“Oh yeah we can, that’s why we’re here anyways right?” George attempts at a light-hearted joke. He still wasn’t over earlier. Clay just brushes everything that inconveniences him, forgetting how others have to deal with it.

“What days are you free George?” He hates the way his name comes off Clay’s lips. It’s almost dangerous.

“Well, basically any day except friday because the party..” he trails off, almost forgetting the conversation entirely. He wonders what it would be like to be at a college party with the boy everyone was crazy for, what it would be like to be considered friends. What were they, friends?ーenemies? Do they hate each other or not?

“What about tomorrow? We can meet up after computer-lab or just stay there,” Clay offered.

“Sounds good, also,” George hesitated. “You never answered my question from earlier.”

Clay didn’t respond this time either, almost as if he’s forgotten his true self. He’s been living this facade for too long, afraid of what people will think if he chooses to reveal it.

“See you tomorrow George.” Clay said, giving George nothing. Four words and then he left. Leaving George to listen to the monotone beeping emitting from his phone.

He groaned, angrily throwing his phone onto the rock-hard bed. “Nope. Still a dick.” he muttered as he looked to his nightstand, reading the clockー7:31pm.

-

George didn’t know how he got here. He’s back out on his shitty balcony smoking with a guy he’s talked to twice. The gentle breeze of the autumn air blows past them, it’s course coming to a stop when it comes into contact with the concrete walls behind them. As George exhales a lung-full puff of smoke he speaks his mind, breaking the comfortable silence that resonated between the two.

“Nick, how’d you meet Clay?”

Nick chuckles at that. “Well, we met in a high-school coding class, when we both found out we were on the football team as well we just hit it off.”

George scoffed. “Was he a dick when you first met?”

“Ha,” Nick chuckled, putting out the butt of his cigarette. “No, no he wasn’t. Don’t know what changed.” George blew out once more. “He just shrugs everyone off nowadays.” 

George lifts his head up, trailing his eyes across the sea of stars. “So he wasn’t always a dick?”

“No, he used to be nice, generous even. He used to talk a lot, now he’s justーdifferent now.” Nick brought his eyes to meet his own shoes, scoffing. “For fucks sake I’ve never seen him in an actual relationship since now.” _Oh. So he’s in a relationship._ George felt like he got punched, someone's cold fist ramming into George’s waist. He discarded the rest of his cigarette and walked inside without saying another word to Nick.

\- 

George didn’t know why Nick’s statement stuck with him so much. George found himself thinking about that girl all day. In the morning when he was staring at his ceiling, counting every crack and crevice, procrastinating getting out of the rock-hard bed. All throughout his classes he was unusually silent, he wouldn’t even talk to Niki during their group assignment in math. The only thing on his mind is how Clay would pull his girlfriend to his chest in the halls, how he would kiss her stupid like she was the only person in the world. Computer lab approached faster than George would’ve liked. He was still pissed at Clay for blowing him off twice, but George couldn’t find the guts to hate him.

George wants to hit the fake face Clay had been wearing off, but will George take off his? The more time the pair spends together George finds it harder and harder to hate Clay. The small talk the two share is simple enough, it's easy going, almost like muscle memory. George catches himself staring a little too much at Clay whenever he’s typing a line of code, admiring the way his fingers hit the keys. Clay had a unique laughーalmost like a wheeze, George found himself tuning into the way he laughed. He caught himself starring a little more than he should, peering at the way the round collar of his shirt rested on his neck, excited when Clay tilted his head just the right way for George to get a glimpse of his toned collar-bones and shoulders.

As Clay was laughing at a joke George made he interrupted, “Why don’t you act like this all the time? Why put on a fake face?” Clay’s laugh comes to a stop, his typing becoming more aggressive.

“It’s just easier for people to think I’m tough,” Clay snarked back, a pang in George’s chest followed. “Wouldn’t expect you to understand,”

“It’s much easier to be your true self, wouldn’t it?” George questions while holding up his pen. No one is in the classroom at this time, Clay and George can be as loud as they want. If they were unlucky an underpaid hall monitor would walk by and overhear their childish bickering. 

“I-I-I mean-” George stammered, unable to form a sentence. “You already got a lot going for you, you’re popular, smart, athletic..” he trails off, fighting off the heat that rushes to his face. “Much wouldn’t change if you weren’t a dick all the time right?” Clay stops typing.

“Isn't it harder to put a fake face on everyday?” George murmurs, almost timidly. “Wouldn’t you lose track of who you are?” And then, _then_ Clay has the audacity to laugh. Low chuckles vibrate through George’s ears.

“I already have.” Clay says, his voice low and filled with secrets. 

Then, silence. Consuming the room unlike it had before. This silence wasn’t the comfortable type, it was quite the opposite. Tensions thickened, and the urge to say something took over George. His angry being taken out on the pen he’d been using to do his calculus work. Clay’s typing still hadn’t resumed, when George whipped his head to the left Clay was on his phone, texting someone. It made George grit his teeth. He didn’t say anything, instead he finished his homework before grabbing his laptop and shoving it into his bag. He took one last glance at Clay only to find that he was already looking at George, with that stupid smirk George despised so much.

“We should do this again,” Clay said as George was zipping up his backpack.

“When?”

“What about tomorrow?”

“The party is tomorrow, did you forget?” George snarked. “And you’re the host.”

“Yeah, I know.” Clay took his eyes off George and they went back to his phone. “Plus it doesn’t start ‘till 6 so we can just go there together and help set up.”

George chuckled slightly, “Are you like dragging me into setting up your frat party?”

“No, just asking.”

“Fine, don’t have anything better to-do.” That’s a lie, and both of them knew it.

-

George didn’t get back to the dorm until 7 that night, almost two hours after his coding session with Clay ended. Upon returning a shower was much needed. He spotted Alex out on the balcony with Nick. He wandered into his room, grabbing sweatpants and a new shirt. His mind wandered back to Clay, how he talked, how he walked, how he moved. His mind was filled with these thoughts as he stepped into the shower, the warm water dribbled down his back along with another form of heat. George gave in, slow wrist movement followed by soft whimpers, and sweet release. When he stepped out and looked in his mirror his pink-flushed face was staring back, lips bitten raw stuck out, the only person to blame here was Clay.

Guilt and clarity washed over George when he was finally in bed. He was ashamed, with no clue how he was going to look at Clay the next day. He pulled his earbuds in, in hopes to distract himself. Still, the only thing on his mind was Clay. 

_You can see it with your eyes_

Indistinct conversations come into focus as Alex and Nick’s voices grow closer. George follows the slow moving fan on the ceiling with his eyes. 

_Oh, even in the dark_

In a way, he’s excited for tomorrow. Not because of the party but because of Clay.

_And that's where I want to be, yeah_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi and welcome to the end, ty for reading this far as always. spring break is coming up for me soon so hopefully ill be able to update more frequently but no promises. thank again and i hope you enjoyed :] 
> 
> anyways aha you should like follow my spotify bc i want spotify clout and my playlists are amazing [my spotify lol](https://open.spotify.com/user/0cv76hsy63y36jl15knyehgss?si=631b245fb2de4886)


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